Download Liberty and Lincoln The United States and the Civil War

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Neal Gittleman, Music Director
11th Annual High School Concert
Liberty and Lincoln
The United States and the Civil War
February 4, 2009
The Dayton Philharmonic
Orchestra
Neal Gittleman, Music
Director
February 4, 2009
9:30 and 11:00 a.m.
Liberty and Lincoln
The United States and the Civil War
American Salute
Morton Gould
(1913-1996)
Three Places in New England, 1st movement
Charles Ives
(1874-1954)
Civil War Military Music
Yankee Doodle
Dixie and The Bonnie Blue Flag
Fireman’s Polka
A Lincoln Portrait
Traditional
Aaron Copland
(1990-1990)
This concert is sponsored/underwritten by Robbins & Myers
with additional support from KeyBank,
and Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
Dear Educator,
Welcome to the February 4, 2009 Dayton Philharmonic
Orchestra High School Concert, Liberty and Lincoln:
The United States and the Civil War.
The arts and humanities not only record human events, they
connect our past and present lives through common
experiences. Music Director Neal Gittleman chose this
concert theme to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009 and his
defining role in one of our nation’s critical turning points in history.
In 1858 after running against Steven Douglas for the Senate and losing, Abraham Lincoln gained
national attention in the debates with Douglas and was nominated in 186o as the Republican
candidate. Lincoln’s visit to this city in 1859 highlights our connection to unfolding historic
events. Lincoln came to Dayton, traveling by train. He rested briefly at a local home, and then
gave a speech at the old Courthouse before continuing on to Cincinnati. He became the sixteenth
president of the U.S. in 1861.
The liberty and Lincoln theme will be explored both at the performance and in these concert
preparation materials. Students will experience how music reflects and captures human emotion,
how it connects to culture and historical events, and will hear great music performed by their
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in the acoustically perfect and visually beautiful Schuster
Performing Arts Center!
The program notes and the CD of concert excerpts are created to assist music specialists and
classroom teachers in preparing their students for the concert experience. Please feel free to
copy these materials to share with other teachers in your building who will attend the concert.
You may also download these materials from the DPO website, www.daytonphilharmonic.com.
From the homepage at the top, click Education then Field Trip Programs then Secondary Grades.
The teacher notes contain information about the composers and their music, and ideas for
integrating this information across the curriculum. The activities are meant to be used in the
regular classroom, as well as the music classroom, and do not require familiarity with the music.
We hope these ideas will help provide an enjoyable and enriching experience for both students
and teachers.
Gloria Pugh
Director of Education
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Program Objective: To explore the connections between music and
significant historical events and to explore both the functional and
artistic expressions of music.
Meet Our Music Director
Neal Gittleman, Music Director
The 2008-2009 season is Neal Gittleman's fourteenth year
as Music Director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gittleman has led the orchestra to new levels of artistic
achievement and increasing renown throughout the
country. The orchestra's performance has been praised by
American Record Guide magazine as well as by the
Cincinnati Enquirer, which called the DPO "…a precise,
glowing machine." And when the Orchestra christened the
Mead Theatre in the Benjamin and Marian Schuster
Performing Arts Center in March of 2003, the paper attested that “Gittleman has brought the
DPO to a new level.” During Gittleman’s tenure, the orchestra has received five ASCAP awards
from the American Symphony Orchestra League for its commitment to contemporary music.
Prior to coming to Dayton, Gittleman served as Music Director of the Marion (IN) Philharmonic,
Associate Conductor of the Syracuse Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Oregon
Symphony Orchestra, a post he held under the Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductors Program. He
also served for ten seasons as Associate Conductor and Resident Conductor of the Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra.
Neal Gittleman has appeared as guest conductor with many of the country’s leading orchestras
and has also conducted orchestras in Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Japan, Canada
and Mexico.
A native of Brooklyn, NY, Gittleman graduated from Yale University in 1975. He studied with
Nadia Boulanger and Annette Dieudonné in Paris, with Hugh Ross at the Manhattan School of
Music and with Charles Bruck at both the Pierre Monteux School and the Hartt School of Music,
where he was a Karl Böhm Fellow. He won the Second Prize at the 1984 Ernest Ansermet
International Conducting Competition in Geneva and Third Prize in the 1986 Leopold Stokowski
Conducting Competition in New York.
At home in the pit as well as on stage, Gittleman has led productions for Dayton Opera, the
Human Race Theatre Company, Syracuse Opera Company, Hartt Opera Theater, and for
Milwaukee's renowned Skylight Opera Theatre. He has also conducted for several ballet
productions around the U.S. and Canada.
Gittleman is nationally known for his Classical Connections programs, which provide a "behind
the scenes" look at great works of the orchestral repertoire. These innovative programs, which
began in Milwaukee 22 years ago, have become a vital part of the Dayton Philharmonic's concert
season.
When not on the podium, Neal is an avid golfer, squash
player and practices t'ai chi ch'uan. He and his wife, Lisa
Fry, have been Dayton residents since 1997.
♪ Listen to CD Track 1.
American Salute (1944)
Morton Gould (1913-1996)
About the Composer
Morton Gould was born in New York City. His family was not
musical, but they did own a player piano. Morton loved to watch
the keys move and he would try to make his fingers move as fast as
the keys did. By the time he was four years old his parents realized
that he was a child prodigy and encouraged him in his music. At
the age of six he had composed his first piece of music and
performed on the piano at a concert. By the time he was eight
years old he was performing regularly on radio shows.
During the Depression, Morton’s family became financially destitute and had to sell the player
piano. Morton helped out by playing the piano in local movie theaters. When he was 21 he got a
job conducting the music for radio programs. Soon he got work conducting music for movies and
theater works. However, his first love was composing. Gould once said,
“Composing is my life blood. That is basically me….” “I hear sounds in my head
all the time.”
Gould’s compositions were very popular because he based much of his music on American music
traditions such as jazz, folk songs, hymns, spirituals, and gospel music. His music had a very
special American sound. A master of orchestration and arranging, he composed music for
Broadway shows, movies, TV, and ballets.
Morton Gould was also a very well-known conductor, directing all of America’s major orchestras
and recording several works with many of them. In addition, he was active in music education
and participated in many music organizations. Among the many awards that he received during
his career was the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for the composition “Stringmusic,” a 1966 Grammy Award
for his recording of Ives’s First Symphony (and because of that Ives’s work gained new
appreciation) and the 2005 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
♪ Listen to CD Track 2.
About the Music
American Salute
Many of us know the tune “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,”
which is the main theme in American Salute. The song was written
in 1863 by Patrick Gilmore for his sister’s husband who was a Captain
in the Union Army during the Civil War. The catchy tune and the
moving words made this song one of the most popular of the time.
Even though this song was written over 140 years ago, the words still have meaning for all those
who have gone to war and whom we welcome on their return. So in 1944 during World War II,
Morton Gould was inspired to write American Salute, a set of orchestral variations on “When
Johnny Comes Marching Home.” This work eventually became the most often
performed orchestral work of the 20th century!
The theme, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” is stated eight
times. The first three variations feature different orchestrations of the
theme, the next three mostly vary the rhythm, and the final two mostly
vary the tempo.
Listen to the first statement of the theme by the bassoons on CD Track 3.
• What instruments are featured on CD Track 4?
• CD Track 5 illustrates the influence of jazz on Gould’s music. In this excerpt, the rhythm
of the tune is syncopated, creating a ‘jazzy’ sound.
• Listen to CD Track 6. What instruments portray the soldiers’ marching feet? Which
instruments play the theme?
Try This: Choose a tune that you know well and create your own set of variations,
either vocally or with an instrument.
Critical Thinking: Since the Civil War, the United States has been engaged in many other armed
conflicts. Create a list of these wars and then discuss how these conflicts were the same and how
they were different. Analyze the similarities and differences of these events based on:
• Causes of the conflict
• Military resources and strategies
• Consequences of the conflict
More Thinking: The lyrics to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” are fairly timeless.
However, are there some wars where these lyrics would ring less true? Which conflicts?
Defend your response.
Here are the lyrics:
When Johnny comes marching home again
Hurrah, hurrah.
We’ll give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrah, hurrah.
The men will cheer, the boys will shout.
The ladies they will all turn out
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes
marching home.
Vocabulary
Lyrics
Prodigy
Three Places in New England
1st movement, The “St. Gaudens” in Boston Common
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
About the Composer
American composer Charles Ives is one of the most intriguing
composers in music history. He wrote some of the most
individualistic music of the early 20th century and is a symbol of
musical daring and independence.
Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut where he was raised. The
small town traditions and New England history were a great
influence on all of his work. His music incorporates American folk
tunes, marches, jazz elements, hymns and spirituals.
His father came from a wealthy family
and tried to work in the family business, but his first love was music.
He was a bandleader in the Union Army during the Civil War and
continued to serve as the town bandmaster in Danbury. He loved to
experiment with unusual sound combinations. Part of Charles’ training
was “stretch the ears” exercises such as singing a song in one key while
playing the accompaniment in a different key. One of his father’s
favorite exercises was to divide his band into two groups, each playing a
different march in a different key. The two groups would then march
towards each other from opposite directions, cross, and then continue off into the distance. (Ives
loved this effect so much that he wrote it into several of his orchestral works.)
Charles began his musical studies playing the piano and composed his
first piece at the age of 11. By the time he was 14 he was also playing the
organ at area churches. He studied business and music at Yale University
where he continued to compose. Following in his father’s experimental
tradition, Charles refused to write anything that was trendy or tuneful
just to please the listener. Instead his music was edgy: polyrhythmic,
polytonal, complicated, sometimes almost impossible to perform and
definitely unconventional. While at Yale, he did well in his music studies
but was not very motivated in the rest of the curriculum, graduating with
a D+ average!
Ives’s Yale photo
Upon graduation, Ives realized that he could never support a family as a composer so he went into
the life insurance business with a partner. This business became the largest insurance company
in the country. So Ives was a successful business man during the week and a composer on the
weekends. This business success made it possible for Ives to continue to write his unconventional
music. He didn’t care what the public thought of it nor did he care that it was never performed.
It was not until 1927 that his work was first heard publicly.
Ives was a maverick:
• “The impossibilities of today are the possibilities of tomorrow.”
• “I work better if I keep to my music and let other people keep to theirs.”
• “The more a composer accepts from his patron, the less he will accept from himself.” True
talent is “when the last man who is willing to make a living out of the arts is gone and
gone forever.”
• “A man takes unpleasant chances when he puts my music in front of an audience.”
• He often called his audiences “soft-eared sissies.”
• “Mozart was effeminate and a bad influence on music.”
Ives was a paradox:
• Studied piano and organ as a child but often preferred to be outside playing baseball and
football
• Became a highly successful businessman while also working as a composer
• Incorporated traditional music styles into his music while also writing in a most
untraditional way
After a heart attack forced Ives to retire from his insurance business, he became a recluse. He
spent his last years overseeing performances of his music, working on a biography and re-working
some of his compositions. In 1947 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Although the music of Charles Ives has not enjoyed wide
audience appeal, his groundbreaking techniques were the
foundation for many of the great 20th century composers who
followed him. According to the legendary conductor and
composer Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives was America’s “first
really great composer.”
Author Jan Swafford in an essay aptly described the importance
of Charles Ives to American music:
“Composers all over the world draw from Ives’s vision and his
courage. He took on the mantle of the European tradition, went
after the ambitions of Beethoven and the others, but did it, as he
liked to say, by finding his ‘own path up the mountain.’ He is
the great maverick of Western music. In that, Ives is American
to the core. We admire our mavericks, and we need them.”
♪ Listen to CD Track 7.
Think About This: List other mavericks in music, art, literature or in history.
Research whether or not their non-traditional approaches to their areas of work
eventually received acclaim and analyze whether it had an influence on others.
About the Music
Three Places in New England
1st movement, The “St. Gaudens” in Boston Common (Col. Shaw and
his Colored Regiment)
This three-movement work illustrates Ives’s fondness for his New England
roots. Each movement is meant to evoke the feeling of three different New
England places. The first movement, which will be performed at the concert,
is a tribute to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment of all African-American
soldiers. This regiment was led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw and was one of
the first official black units in the U.S. Army. The regiment is famous in Civil
War history for their brave assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South
Carolina. Though over a third of the soldiers did not survive, history has
recognized their heroism. The movie “Glory” was based on the story of this
regiment.
Ives was inspired to write this tribute after viewing a
memorial sculpture to these soldiers on Boston
Common. The sculpture was created by Augustus
Saint-Gaudens in 1897.
The music describes the long slow march of the
soldiers to the fort and quotes songs from the Civil
War era: “Marching Through Georgia,” “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” and “Old Black Joe.” Before
listening to the CD excerpts below, become acquainted with these melodies. You can hear the
melodies at http://www.nps.gov.archive/gett/gettkidz/music.htm
♪ Listen to CD Track 8 and imagine yourself as part of the regiment marching toward a major
battle. How does the music express the tension that must have been present for these soldiers?
Does the music imply that they are optimistic about victory? Why or why not?
The various folk melodies appear as mere fragments throughout this work. ♪ Listen to CD Track 9
for one example. Raise your hand when you think you hear a folk tune fragment.
On CD Track 10 the music builds to a brief chaotic battle before settling back to almost a
complete rendering of “The Battle Cry of Freedom”. The melody is transformed from a rousing
fight song to a plaintive and haunting aftermath to battle.
Research the Massachusetts 54th Regiment and write a brief report on
how the regiment was formed, who their leaders were, and the results
and consequences of the assault on Fort Wagner.
♪ Listen to a recording of the complete movement. Create a narrative that
would accompany this music.
Vocabulary
Maverick
Movement
Paradox
Polyrhythm
Polytonal
Regiment
Traditional Civil War Military Music
Music can entertainment us, excite us, calm us, and
inspire us. It is an important part of all societies. This was
no less true during the Civil War as military bands were
formed and called upon to perform patriotic marching
tunes at recruitment rallies, parades, and concerts. In fact
brigades and regiments had their own bands. These
bands helped keep up soldier morale and kept long
marches moving forward.
Soldiers from both the Union and Confederate sides liked
to sing to pass the time in the evenings or while on the
march to help keep them going. Many of the songs they sang are quite familiar to us today. How
many of these songs have you heard before?
• “Dixie”
• “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
• “Yankee Doodle” (This song dates from the Revolutionary War and before, but was sill a
favorite of the Union Army.)
• “The Bonnie Blue Flag”
• “The Battle Cry of Freedom”
• “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
• “John Brown’s Body”
These and many others have become part of America’s musical heritage. If there are any of these
that are not familiar to you, you can download them at
http://www.nps.gov.archive/gett/gettkidz/music.htm
Often, both sides sang and played the same songs, but with different lyrics. Compare the words
to the “Battle Cry for Freedom” on the following page and then answer these questions:
• What seems to be the main difference between the first stanza of the two versions?
• What does the Southern version mean by “Down with the Eagle, And Up with the Cross”?
• Summarize the meaning of the third stanza of the Northern version which begins, “We
will welcome to our numbers…”
a. How do you think the Southern version of the song symbolizes the Confederate
cause?
b. How do you think the Northern version of the song symbolizes the Union cause?
“The Battle Cry of Freedom”
Northern Version
Yes, we’ll rally round the flag boys,
we’ll rally once again
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
We will rally from the hillside,
we’ll gather from the plain
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
Southern Version
Our flag is proudly floating on the
land and on the main
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
Beneath it oft we’ve conquered, and
we’ll conquer oft again!
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
Chorus
The Union forever! Hurrah boys hurrah!
Down with the traitors, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys,
rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
Our Dixie forever! She’s never at a loss!
Down with the eagle and up with the cross!
We’ll rally round the bonny flag,
we’ll rally once again,
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
We are springing to the call
Of our brothers gone before,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And we’ll fill our vacant ranks
With a million free men more,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
Our gallant boys have marched
To the rolling of the drums,
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
And the leaders in charge cry out,
“Come, boy, come!”
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
Chorus
We will welcome to our numbers
The loyal true and brave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And although they may be poor,
Not a man shall be a slave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
They have laid down their lives
On the bloody battle field,
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
Their motto is resistance –
“To tyrants we’ll not yield!”
Shout, shout the battle cry of freedom!
Chorus
Create a 21st century version of the lyrics to “The Battle Cry of Freedom”.
In addition to bands, certain instruments were used to
signal various activities. Infantry companies relied on
drummers to play drum beats for formation and other
events as well as providing signals for morning roll call, sick
call, guard duty and lights out. Most importantly drummers
actually communicated orders and troop movement from
the commanding officers. Sometimes the drums were
accompanied by a fife, a piccolo-like wind instrument made
of wood. During the war fife music was popular because the
shrill tone of the fife could be heard above battlefield noise
and rumbling cannon.
Calvary regiments relied on buglers for the same purposes as the infantry.
There is a story about military bands that illustrates that music often is a great communicator
that breaks down barriers and connects us all no matter the circumstances, even in times of war.
As written in the Gettysburg National Military Park Kidzpage:
During the winter of 1862-1863, the Union
and Confederate armies were camped near
each other at Fredericksburg, Virginia,
separated only by the expanse of the
Rappahannock River. One cold afternoon, a
band in the Union camp struck up some
patriotic tunes to cheer the men. They were
answered from across the river by a
Confederate band. The Union band played
another tune followed by the Confederates
who also did their best to play the same
song. Back and forth the musical duel went
lasting well into the evening hours. Soldiers in both armies listened to the musical battle
and would cheer for their own bands. The duel finally ended when both bands struck up
the tune, “Home Sweet Home.” It was then that the men of both sides who were so far
from their homes, cheered as one.
♪ Listen to CD Track 11 and 12.
Imagine how modern day soldiers pass their time
at night. Would group singing likely be an
activity? If yes, what songs do you suppose they
would choose to sing? If your answer is no,
support your response.
Vocabulary
Brigade
Bugle
Fife
Infantry
A Lincoln Portrait
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
About the Composer
Aaron Copland is often referred to as the first truly
American composer whose works have a uniquely American
sound. Having grown up in New York City, his music was
influenced by the jazz and pop sounds he grew up hearing.
In his autobiography Copland says,
“I was born on November 14, 1900 on a street in
Brooklyn that can only be described as drab. It had
none of the garish color of the ghetto, none of the
charm of an old English thorough-fare, or even a
pioneer street…. I mention it because it was there that I spent the first twenty years of my
life. Also, because it fills me with mild wonder each time I realize that a musician was
born on that street…. Music was the last thing anyone would have connected with it. In
fact, no one ever connected music with my family or with my street. The idea was entirely
original with me.”
Copland was the youngest of five children. He became interested in music when he took piano
lessons from his sister. When he started attending New York Symphony Orchestra concerts, he
fell in love with music. So he decided to study theory and composition rather than go to college.
He traveled to France to further his studies and also study conducting.
When he returned to the USA he was writing very austere contemporary sounding music which
audiences did not like very much. In the mid 1930’s he decided that he needed to change his style
in order to communicate better with audiences. During this period he produced his most wellknown works; these have been labeled as truly American music.
Like Charles Ives’s compositions, this music featured percussive orchestrations, polyrhythm,
polytonality, and changing rhythms with quotes from American folk music. However, unlike Ives,
Copland was able to write complex music that was at the same time simple sounding and
accessible. Ives didn’t care if anyone listened to or liked his music, while Copland definitely did
want to communicate with his audiences. His unique sound seemed to epitomize the vastness of
the American landscape and spirit and audiences loved it. During this period he wrote such
classics as Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Fanfare for the Common Man, and A Lincoln
Portrait.
In addition to his classical compositions, Copland also wrote music for eight films, two of which
were based on Steinbeck novels, The Red Pony and Of Mice and Men.
In the 1950s, Copland was blacklisted by the FBI for being sympathetic to the Communist Party
USA as part of the McCarthy anti-communist movement. Although he testified before Congress
that he was never a member of the Party, a scheduled performance of A Lincoln Portrait at the
inauguration of President Eisenhower was removed from the program.
Copland was the author of a critically acclaimed book, What to Listen for in Music and the
recipient of numerous awards: the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Critics’ Choice Circle Award, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar, The Gold Medal of Freedom, and others, as
well as a number of honorary degrees. Although sometimes Copland was criticized by the
musical elite for his popular style, he was a champion of new music throughout his lifetime,
organizing new music concert series and publishing American works.
♪ Listen to an interview with Aaron Copland at www.NPR.org.
Research McCarthyism.
• Who was Joseph McCarthy?
• Who were the Hollywood Ten?
• What is Communism? Why was it considered so terrible to be connected to the
Communist Party in the late 1940’s and 1950’s?
• What was the House Un-American Activities Committee?
As a result of McCarthy’s zealous
campaign to identify Communist
subversives and sympathizers,
hundreds of people were unjustly
accused, including 320 artists who
were blacklisted. For some this
meant the end of their careers.
Vocabulary
Blacklist
McCarthyism
Photo of a House Un-American Activities hearing
♪ Listen to CD Track 13.
Lincoln and his Political Choices
Abraham Lincoln in his Inaugural Address cautioned the South:
“In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous
issue of civil war. The government will not assail you…. You have no oath registered in
Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve,
protect and defend it.”
While many in the South saw the war as the War of Northern Aggression or War for Southern
Independence, Lincoln viewed the war as necessary to prevent the Union from breaking apart.
He felt that secession was illegal and was willing to use might to defend Federal law and the
Union of all the states. As Fort Sumter surrendered to Confederate forces signaling the beginning
of the Civil War, Lincoln then requested 75,000 volunteers from the states.
Lincoln was the product of very humble and unpromising beginnings – his
mother died when he was ten and his father was shiftless, on the frontier
(then Indiana and Illinois) and continually on the move. Enduring early days
of ignorance, poverty and hard work, Lincoln struggled to make a living as he
educated himself. “Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still
somehow, I could read, write, and cipher…but that was all.” At first he split
rails for fences, worked on a farm and kept store in New Salem, Illinois,
making extraordinary efforts to educate himself, becoming a lawyer in the
process. Then he spent eight years in the Illinois legislature as a Whig, a
regular party man, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. Although he
lost the election to the US Senate when he challenged Steven Douglas in 1858, the debates
between them propelled him to national prominence and gave him wide attention. His choice to
take up the antislavery cause and the brilliance, power and eloquence of his speeches (in an era of
no professional speechwriters) led to his reputation as a leader backing the cause of freedom from
within the constitution.
Although a Republican and having built the party into a strong
cohesive organization, Lincoln as President also brought together
northern Democrats to the Union cause. In 1864 he won re-election
and, even as the military campaigns signaled the Union’s winning of
the war, he sought, by being moderate and flexible in the terms for
peace, to have all join together and Southerners put down their arms.
John Wilkes Booth thought he was helping the South when he
assassinated Lincoln, but instead ended those hopes.
About the Music
A Lincoln Portrait (1942)
In 1942, while the US was at war, conductor Andre Kostelanetz commissioned Copland to write a
piece about an “eminent American.” The idea behind the commission was to help uplift and
inspire the American people during this troubled time. Once again music was to serve as a source
of inspiration. Copland chose Abraham Lincoln but he decided that he could not truly portray
him solely with music, so he chose to bring the words of this great man into the composition.
The text is taken from several sources; the final excerpt is from the Gettysburg Address.
As described by Copland:
“The composition is roughly divided into three main sections. In the opening section I
wanted to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s
personality. Also near the end of that section, something of his gentleness and simplicity
of spirit. The quick middle section briefly sketches in the background of the times he
lived. This merges into the concluding section where my sole purpose was to draw a
simple but impressive frame about the words of Lincoln himself.”
A Lincoln Portrait has been performed more than any of Copland’s other compositions. The piece
has featured narrators from all areas of endeavors such as Walter Cronkite, Henry Fonda, Al Gore,
James Earl Jones, Paul Newman, Barack Obama, Gregory Peck, Carl Sandburg, James Taylor, and
Gore Vidal to name a few.
♪ Listen to CD Track 14 – How would you describe Lincoln based on the music you hear in this
excerpt?
♪ Listen to CD Track 15 – What images of America come to mind when listening to this excerpt?
Vocabulary
Commission
Narration from Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.”
That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said.
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this congress and this
administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal
significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery
trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to
the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the
responsibility.” [Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862]
He was born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, and lived in Illinois. And
this is what he said. This is what Abe Lincoln said.
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high
with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case in new, so we must think anew
and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we
will save our country.” [Annual Message to Congress,
December 1, 1862]
When standing erect he was six feet four inches tall and
this is what he said.
He said: “It is the eternal struggle between two principles,
right and wrong, throughout the world. It is the same
spirit that says ‘you toil and work and earn bread, and I’ll eat it.’ No matter in what shape it
comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation, and
live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology
for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.”
[Lincoln-Douglas debates, October 15, 1858]
Lincoln was a quiet man. Abe Lincoln was a quiet and a melancholy
man. But when he spoke of democracy, this is what he said.
He said: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This
expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the
extent of the difference, is no democracy.”
Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of these United States, is everlasting in the memory of his
countrymen. For on the battleground of Gettysburg, this is what he said:
He said: “That from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure
of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a
new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the
people. and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
[Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863]
Create your own portrait in sound of one of your
personal heroes. Describe what the music will
sound like to best describe this person.
Go to the following Library of Congress website:
Lincoln photographed at Gettysburg
” Sheet Music about Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Civil War” at
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/scsmhtml/scsmhome.html Click
on the Learning Page icon and then US History. On this page study the sections titled Union
Draft Songs, Regional Tension: The Depiction of the South, and The Emancipation Proclamation.
Answer the questions concerning the selections within these categories.
Do we have any songs in our contemporary culture which are this political in nature? Why or
why not?
Study the Arts and Humanities page on this same site. Various songs are categorized according
to the writing forms in which they were created. Choose one of the forms listed, study the songs
and answer the questions about it. Can you think of any contemporary songs that use the
following writing forms?
• Satire
• Metaphor
• Persuasive writing
• Historic Ballad
• Personification and symbolism
• Allegory
List and describe them.
Glossary
Blacklist – to shun or condemn people or groups for behavior that breaks implicit or explicit
rules
Brigade – a large body of troops including two or more regiments
Bugle – a trumpet like instrument which is shorter and more conical than a trumpet
Commission – an artistic work created at the request of an outside party, usually for a specific
occasion.
Fife – a simple small flute used to accompany drummers in battle
Infantry – a group of soldiers who serve on foot
Lyrics – the words to a song
Maverick – a nonconformist
McCarthyism – anti-communist movement in the US in the late 40’s to late 50’s
Movement – in music, a section of a longer piece of music which can also stands on its own
Paradox – an inconsistency or contradiction
Polyrhythm – the simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms
Polytonal – the simultaneous use of contrasting musical keys
Prodigy – a young person who shows unusual abilities without having had any formal training
Regiment – a body of soldiers consisting of a number of troops or companies